The four loves of Tristepin
by m.tarnina
Summary: Exercise based on "The Four Loves". A collection of four shorts, set from ep. 25 of season 1 to after season 2.
1. Agape

Percidal runs out of the forest to the burnt-out space of grey ash. The air is acrid, bitter. He can't stop coughing after the first breath of it.

Finally he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. The sword he's holding sneers "Done?"

Percidal straightens, hand still close to his mouth.

Before him, among the field of grey, an enormous brass flask on spindly legs is aiming a pipe-like arm at a slim figure in black.

She's tiny next to the metal thing. Her body a barrier between the thing and a fainting princess. Percidal has no idea what happened here and he spares it no thought.

In a leap he's with her. With his sword he blocks the strike.

"Let me out!" Rubilax demands.

The iop's first instinct is to throw his sword into the purple eye of the mechanical monster, but the shushu could merge with it, which wouldn't be good.

But if he has no strength to control Rubilax, has he enough strength to protect a lady? We'll see, he tells himself.

His arms grow weak, but he's standing tall. He isn't the iop Tristepin Percidal anymore, or rather, he is, but it's not important.

The only important thing is the life and safety of the two ladies. Knights protect ladies. That's what they're for. If he lets them come to any harm, if he doesn't sacrifice all he has to protect them, he'd render the very idea of knighthood null. Knighthood will be an empty word, and he'll be nothing at all. A knight protects ladies. It's so clear.

"Let me out!" Rubilax pleads, and this time Percidal agrees. He knows the request is sincere. Maybe Rubilax is a knight in his own way, too.

"Dally?" the lady behind him asks worriedly, but he reassures her "Yes, Eva, it's me! Rubilax left me in control."

And the shushu does yield to the knight's will. No struggles, no protests, without a word he lends the knight his strength, as if he made the choice as well.

A thousand pins, hot like ice, run through Percidal's heart, but it's nothing.

They never hit those he was protecting.

Rubilax's strength leaves him, but it's nothing. Then his own strength follows.

Percidal falls to his knees, he collapses into the lady's arms, but this is good. He let her come to no harm. Fulfilled his purpose.

Now others will take it over.

A hot tear falls on his cheek, but his heart feels light.

"Don't be an idiot" the lady pleads, and he explains, gently, like a knight should.

"I'm not dying, I'm entering the legend."

Darkness is clouding his eyes, but he remains conscious of this truth, it fills his entire heart.

A knight does not die.

He enters the legend, another defender of the limitless kingdom.


	2. Eros

Evangeline is dancing. Slight and slim, she jumps from roof to roof, silver in the moonlight.

Once Percidal saw a shooting star dashing through the sky. That's how Eva looks like now from above. Above? Ugh, how does Rubilax cope? How can he moan so much about being locked up?

"Hey. Still with me?"

A warm touch on the sword's guard brings him back to reality.

"I am."

Eva takes the sword out to look him in the eye. Her irises twinkle with starlight, the moon makes her hair strands of silver.

If Percidal had any lungs now, he'd be breathless, she's so lovely.

"Stay with me." She smiles at him, the girl with emerald eyes.

"Always." He declares, and Eva laughs softly, briefly. A laughter for them, and them alone. Only now they are alone in the deserted town.

Evangeline slips the sword behind her belt, careful, so it won't fall out on its own, while Percidal makes a vow to himself that, ever since this moment, whatever happens, he'll never leave Eva, he won't allow himself another moment of distraction. True, there is little he can do to help her in his present state, but he'll do what he can, because this is Eva. Eva, who came to him all this way. He can't believe his own luck.

Now, thinking of her, almost feeling her muscles move under the thin fabric of her trousers, he finds it easier to stay anchored. Percidal's soul doesn't take well to being locked in cold iron, it keeps struggling, trying to get free, but focusing his thoughts on Eva helps. Percidal watches the lovely archer closely, as she takes a run-up before leaping to another roof. Her boots thump on the ridge. Eva stops, putting her hand on her hip, inches from the sword hilt.

"Where to?"

"Where the smoke is, I guess." He'd point, if he had any hands.

Eva's slim fingers caress the hilt of Percidal's sword.

"What's Rubilax plotting?" she mutters.

"My master would say he's trying to rule the world, like all shushus."

"Really?"

"Well, that's what he said. Eva..."

"Mhm?" She's still, but Percidal knows she's going to jump, so he hurries to say "Will you be careful?"

"Me?" Evangeline takes the sword out to press the flat of the blade to her cheek, faster than a iop could blink. "Look who's talking."

Percidal rolls his eye. "We can go adventuring like this, too."

"I'd rather hold your hand than your hilt."

"Rubilax won't hurt you, but another shushu..."

"I've fought another shushu." Eva puts the sword back behind her belt.

"And I'm not scared."

Maybe, if he was listening with his ears, he'd miss the trembling in Eva's voice, but in any case, he knows she's decided. The bravest girl in the world. He'd want it so much to fight by her side again. To protect her.

"We're going, then?"

"We're going."

Eva jumps down into a dark alley.


	3. Philia

"So died the light upon the mountain, so the night came upon the drake and the iop."

The bard, after a final pluck on the strings, takes a bow, sweeping the earthen floor with his hat, then leaves the ring of light. Eva sighs, very softly. Her slim fingers slide under Percidal's hand, lying on the rough wooden table, to intertwine with his fingers. The iop turns to her with a smile.

"Rykke Errel was way cool." There's a sincere awe in Yugo's voice.

In the dim light the blush on Evangeline's cheek seems dark.

"Yup" Percidal admits. "A true iop."

"Meaning, idiot." Ruel mutters into his mug, but everyone hears him anyway. Eva holds Percidal's hand on the table.

"What exactly were you going to say?"

"Got himself killed for a dead gal, that's what."

The mug taps down on the table. Amalia snorts. "Less romantic than a tuber, really."

"Romantic. Bah. Death while robbing a dragon's hoard, I can understand. Job-related risk. But walking into its maw?"

"You have to, sometimes." Yugo says and Percidal agrees "Right!"

"Sure thing, kids. We'll talk when you're my age."

"If you got that old only by hiding, I'll pass." Eva leans back on the chair, letting go of her knight's hand.

"You can't buy life with any sort of money."

"Pity, that, eh, Ruel?" Amalia giggles, but Yugo interrupts her.

"That's not about life, is it? Not a long life, anyway."

"That was before the Ogrest Flood, and they still sing songs of Rykke Errel." Percidal concurs.

"And he's still six feet under." Ruel snaps, but Eva says "He would be anyway, that was ages ago. He lives on in the songs."

"Our poet." Ruel mutters.

"Stop picking on her! You'll never understand true love." Amalia rests her cheek on her hand, and her elbow on the table. "He couldn't live without her, can't you see?"

Ruel snorts. "The dumbest thing I've heard in my life."

"I don't know, Amalia." Eva says, pensive.

"If anyone ought to understand-" the princess starts, but Yugo interrupts her. "No, Eva's right. He loved her a lot, but there was more."

"What more? He loved her, end of story! He didn't get himself killed just to become a legend."

"No." Percidal says soberly. "Not just for it."

"What d'ya know." Amalia mumbles.

"The dragon was setting villages on fire and so on." Yugo breaks in. "He had to be stopped."

"By killing? You'd have talked him down."

Yugo laughs softly. "I'd try, but Bolgrot wouldn't listen, remember?"

"So? Would you kill me if I stopped listening to you?" Amalia leans towards him and Yugo laughs, rubbing his neck. "You never listen."

"Neither do you lay waste to the land, as long as you're not a queen, anyway." Quips Eva. Then, ignoring the irritated "hey!", she adds "If this was just a dragon, any dragon, not his friend, would you wonder at what Rykke did?"

"The story wouldn't be so good then." Percidal observes. Eva pulls him towards her.

"Exactly." Yugo agrees. "Unless he'd be as huge as three Grougaloragans."

"No, not even then. I mean, this would be grand, but not that heroic."

Percidal puts his arm around her waist gently. "Exactly."

Ruel shakes his head, clucking. "Talk about perfect for each other."

Eva plants a kiss on Percidal's cheek. "That's right."


	4. Storge

Water is dribbling off Percidal when he stands in the doorway. His cloak looks just like a drenched rag.

"It's raining." He says, walking in. Eva raises her blonde head from a book. "Uhm, I can see that."

The rain is pelting the carefully locked and barred shutters, but on the table there is a ceramic brazier with coals, and it fills the room with pinkish glow. Percidal kneels by to warm his hands, frozen stiff.

"You'll drip over everything." Eva pulls herself up on the back of the sofa to put her book on the edge of the table, away from the drops that fall from the iop's hair.

Reaching for his cloak's fastening, she brushes her hand on Percidal's collar bone, but he feels nothing.

"You're cold as ice." Eva mutters, taking his cloak off. "To the bathroom, right now, and dry yourself."

Too cold to protest, Percidal obediently stands up to shuffle behind the partition, woven from living boughs.

"Why do you even patrol the forest in this weather?" Eva snorts. The patter of rain is drowning out the clanking of faïence cups.

"All the monsters are long since hidden. Or drowned. May I come in?"

"Please." Trying not to shiver, he puts the towel away on a peg. Eva walks in to hang his coat on the clothesline, then, with her foot, pulls up a bucket from the corner to catch the falling drops. Then she wrings a rag she's holding into the bucket.

Percidal, flushed, rubs his neck as Eva is hanging the rag on the clothesline.

"I'd have cleaned it up. Don't trouble yourself."

Eva rolls her eyes. "Stupid iop. Moving a bit won't hurt me."

"But..."

"But?"

She pulls him out of the bathroom, then pushes him onto the sofa. There are two cups on the table, on the brazier there's now a green teapot with a subtle pandawan pattern painted on it.

"The eniripsa said you should rest."

"I've been resting all day. And besides, in a couple of weeks we'll both have our hands full." She sits down by his side, slowly, carefully, and he pulls a throw off the back rest of the sofa and over her bare feet.

Water sings in the teapot. Evangeline leans over slowly, but Percidal is faster. He pours the water into the mugs, and they immediately give out hot, fragrant steam.

"You really don't have to do everything for me." Eva's voice is equal parts irritation and fondness. Percidal hands her a mug.

"I like helping you." He mumbles, pulling at the throw with his free hand.

"Stupid iop." Hair, soft like flax, brushes at his arm. The cra leans against him and rests her warm cheek on the iop's shoulder with a sigh.

"Smarty-pants cra." Percidal counters, embracing her under the blanket.

"Mhm. Drink you tea and warm up a little."

The rain keeps knocking at the windows. Percidal swallows some tea. Delightful warmth fills his bones.

For a moment they drink in silence, resting against each other, listening to the rain. Eva is wonderfully warm, but Percidal is getting rid of the chill, too. The mug stops burning his fingers.

He puts it away and takes Eva's hand.

"I can stop going to the patrols, if you want." He offers.

"And sit here, bored, all day?" Eva laughs. "I don't, thanks. Although you could dress up warmer." She adds after a moment. "So I don't have you to mother as well when you fall ill."

"Come on!" The iop sits up straight and proud, the blanket slipping off his knees.

Eva giggles, puts down her cup and leans her fair head on her knight's chest.

"Stupid iop." She mutters.

"Smarty-pants cra." Percidal hugs her gently. They listen to the rain together.


End file.
